Kenya adaptation to climate change in the arid lands: anticipating, adapting to and coping with climate risks in Kenya - operational recommendations for KACCAL

Years of concerted activism to bring awareness of climate change and its consequences to the fore of global concerns are finally yielding dividends. Until recently, most climate change activity focused on medium- to long-term projections regarding the nature and trajectory of change processes. With the uncertainties inherent in long-term climate projections and the difficulty of building political and economic momentum from hypothetical future scenarios, progress was slow. The recent past has, however, resulted in a drastic increase in extreme climate events across the globe that has wreaked untold humanitarian and economic havoc. The costly present day manifestations of climate change have catapulted climate concerns to the forefront of the global arena. The recent high-level event convened by the Secretary General of the United Nations to address the leadership challenge of climate change and build momentum for climate change talks (Bali, Indonesia, December 2007) is a clear indication that the urgency of climate change has fostered the degree of serious commitment it requires from the global agenda. Whatever its impacts, it is widely acknowledged that poor communities, already vulnerable to a suite of existing risks and endowed with meagre resources, will be the most adversely affected as climate change is superimposed on their already tenuous situation. In recognition of the need to help vulnerable populations in developing countries adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), in conjunction with its partners, funds programmes aimed at reducing the vulnerability of countries to the impacts of climate change and helps them build adaptive capacity. The Kenya Adaptation to Climate Change in the Arid Lands (KACCAL) project is one such initiative supported in conjunction with the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). About 80% of Kenya is arid or semi-arid and the main livelihood activities in these areas are pastoral, agropastoral and subsistence agriculture. Currently, these populations are among the poorest in Kenya, suffer from a weak natural resource base, are negatively affected by socio-economic and demographic trends that see a growing population depending on diminishing rangelands, and are relatively marginalized from the growing economy. Add to this the impacts of climate change, of which the recent severe and extended droughts of 2001, 2004–06 and the widespread flooding in 2007 are an early signal, and the livelihood threats to the communities of Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) are clear and present

Plasma activation of N-2, CH4 and CO2: an assessment of the vibrational non-equilibrium time window

Vibrational excitation potentially enhances the energy efficiency of plasma dissociation of stable molecules and may open new routes for energy storage and process electrification. Electron, vibrational and rotational temperatures were measured by in situ Thomson and Raman scattering in order to assess the opportunities and limitations of the essential vibration-translation non-equilibria in N-2, CO2 and CH4 plasma. Electron temperatures of 1.1-2.8 eV were measured in N-2 and CH4. These are used to confirm predominant energy transfer to vibrations after an initial phase of significant electronic excitation and ionization. The vibrational temperatures initially exceed rotational temperatures by almost 8000 K in N-2, by 900 K in CO2, and by 300 K in CH4. Equilibration is observed at the 0.1 ms timescale. Based on the vibrational temperatures, the vibrational loss rates for different channels are estimated. In N-2, vibrational quenching via N atoms is identified as the dominant equilibration mechanism. Atomic nitrogen population reaches a mole fraction of more than 1%, as inferred from the afterglow emission decay, and explains a gas heating rate of 25 K mu s(-1). CH4 equilibration at 1200 K is predominantly caused by vibrational-translational relaxation in CH4-CH4 collisions. As for CO2, vibrational-translational relaxation via parent molecules is responsible for a large fraction of the observed heating, whereas product-mediated VT relaxation is not significantly contributing. It is suggested that electronic excitation, followed by dissociation or quenching contributes to the remaining heat generation. In conclusion, the time window to profit from vibrational excitation under the present conditions is limiting practical application.</p

Flame bands: CO + O chemiluminescence as a measure of gas temperature

Carbon monoxide flame band emission (CO+O → CO2+hV) in CO2 microwave plasma is quantified by obtaining absolute calibrated emission spectra at various locations in the plasma afterglow while simultaneously measuring gas temperatures using rotational Raman scattering. Comparison of our results to literature reveals a contribution of O2 Schumann-Runge UV emission at T &gt; 1500 K. This UV component likely results from the collisional exchange of energy between CO2(1B) and O2. Limiting further analysis to T &lt; 1500 K, we demonstrate the utility of CO flame band emission by analyzing afterglows at different plasma conditions. We show that the highest energy efficiency for CO production coincides with an operating condition where very little heat has been lost to the environment prior to ∼3 cm downstream, while simultaneously, T ends up below the level required to effectively freeze in CO. This observation demonstrates that, in CO2 plasma conversion, optimizing for energy efficiency does not require a sophisticated downstream cooling method.</p

Clinical decision rules and measuring renal function in community pharmacy: what do we get out of it?

OBJECTIVE To investigate the frequency and management of drug therapy alerts about drug use in patients with (potential) renal impairment, to investigate the contribution of point-of-care testing (PoCT) of renal function in community pharmacy to the availability of information on renal function, and to investigate pharmacists’ experiences with drug therapy alerts and PoCT. DESIGN AND METHODS A clinical decision support system with clinical decision rules for eleven drugs (seven antibiotics, sotalol, digoxin, allopurinol and spironolactone) and PoCT of renal function were implemented in community pharmacies. The clinical decision rules generated an alert when dose adjustment was advised based on a registered impaired renal function, and when information on the renal function was lacking for patients over 70 years of age with a prescription for one of the selected drugs. Data registered in the clinical decision support system regarding generated alerts, renal functions and alert management were analysed retrospectively. In addition, the participating pharmacists filled out a questionnaire about their experiences. RESULTS 336 pharmacists managed 27.307 alerts for 21.494 patients, leading to 362 dose adjustments and 65 drug replacements. For 16.208 of these patients, renal function has been registered in the clinical decision support system, including over 400 PoCT measurements. Based on PoCT, 25 cases of impaired renal function have been registered, leading to two therapy adjustments. The participating pharmacists were positive about the project. CONCLUSION Advanced clinical decision rules on renal function led to over 400 therapy adjustments. PoCT is a potentially useful source of information on renal function in a limited number of cases, when this information is urgently needed and not available from other sources

Clinical decision rules and measuring renal function in community pharmacy: what do we get out of it?

OBJECTIVE To investigate the frequency and management of drug therapy alerts about drug use in patients with (potential) renal impairment, to investigate the contribution of point- of-care testing (PoCT) of renal function in community pharmacy to the availability of information on renal function, and to investigate pharmacists' experiences with drug therapy alerts and PoCT. DESIGN AND METHODS A clinical decision support system with clinical decision rules for eleven drugs (seven antibiotics, sotalol, digoxin, allopurinol and spironolactone) and PoCT of renal function were implemented in community pharmacies. The clinical decision rules generated an alert when dose adjustment was advised based on a registered impaired renal function, and when information on the renal function was lacking for patients over 70 years of age with a prescription for one of the selected drugs. Data registered in the clinical decision support system regarding generated alerts, renal functions and alert management were analysed retrospectively. In addition, the participating pharmacists filled out a questionnaire about their experiences. RESULTS 336 pharmacists managed 27.307 alerts for 21.494 patients, leading to 362 dose adjustments and 65 drug replacements. For 16.208 of these patients, renal function has been registered in the clinical decision support system, including over 400 PoCT measurements. Based on PoCT, 25 cases of impaired renal function have been registered, leading to two therapy adjustments. The participating pharmacists were positive about the project. CONCLUSION Advanced clinical decision rules on renal function led to over 400 therapy adjustments. PoCT is a potentially useful source of information on renal function in a limited number of cases, when this information is urgently needed and not available from other sources